"Less than a month after deploying in al-Khalil, a US-trained battalion of Palestinian policemen has arrested over 250 Hamas fighters, defense officials revealed to Israeli daily The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday. In addition to the Hamas men, the battalion has also arrested over 140 Palestinians, claiming they were "criminal suspects."" (thanks Olivia)

Muhammad Dahlan Scouts. "Glassman, who serves as under secretary for public diplomacy and public affairs, joined Partnership co-chairs Ziad Asali, president of the American Task Force on Palestine, and Jean Case, chief executive officer of the Case Foundation, at the November 17 opening ceremony of a new youth development and resource center in the West Bank town of Beita. The center is the first of four that the partnership is working to expand. Also working on the expansion are the Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Youth and Sports and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)."

"The Taliban are setting up courts and other local-government institutions across southern Afghanistan, challenging U.S. efforts to pacify the country and bolster the authority of the central government in Kabul." (thanks Nabeel)

"Thomas Friedman, the one-time eloquent cheerleader for the Iraq War...."

There is an actual memo ( could not reproduce here as I received first a PDF file, and then an image that could not be uploaded) that I have received and it is from the Lebanese commander-in-chief of the Lebanese Army (which proudly owns zee plane, zee plane, of the Lebanese Air Force). It calls on all members of the Lebanese Armed forces to "go to the internet" to vote on making J`itta Grotto one of the top "wonders of the world." So don't you go around thinking that the Lebanese Army is disregarding its duty to defend the homeland from daily Israeli violations of sovereignty. The commander-in-chief has other priorities. (thanks Ziyad)

This is from a column by Jihad Al-Khazen in Al-Hayat. Enjoy. It is a really "good" representative sample of what you read in the Saudi press:
"وأسعدني هذه المرة أن يدخل علينا في الفندق فجأة الأمير خالد بن سلطان، مساعد وزير الدفاع السعودي، والأمير سعود بن نايف، السفير في مدريد، وجلسنا معاً وحاولت أن أسمع بعض أخبار السياسة السعودية والعربية منهما، قبل أن يحضرا جلسة مجلس الأمناء فهما من الأعضاء المؤسسين. (كان هناك مصورون في ردهات المؤتمر والفندق وجاءني أحدهم يصورني مع الأميرين، وقال إن الصورة ثمنها 30 جنيهاً لا 20 كبقية الصور لأنها للأميرين، وقلت له هما أميران إلا أنني لست أميراً، وساومته حتى قَبِل بالسعر العادي وربما أبيع الصور للأميرين بأربعين جنيهاً وأكسب، وأنوّع مصادر دخلي).
كان هناك كثيرون من الأصدقاء، ولعل أسعدنا كان الأخ خالد التركي، فهو والسيدة زوجته يعملان في مجالي التعليم والشباب، ولهما جهد قديم مستمر، ورأيت الصديق عبدالمقصود خوجة يتفق مع مثقفين مصريين لإصدار ديوان شاعر مصري راحل عمل في السعودية والكويت، فهو دار نشر من رجل واحد. واستضافنا الأخ صالح كامل، ونشاطه في الميديا ينافس أعماله الأخرى، وسرني كثيراً أن أرى السفير السعودي هشام ناظر، «صاحب الوزارتين» والعلاقة معه تسبق وزارتي التخطيط والبترول، والسفير الأردني هاني الملقي الذي عرفته منذ كان وزيراً للخارجية، وأيضاً الصديق الدكتور مصطفى الفقي، وهو أقرب اليّ مفكراً منه سياسياً، خصوصاً عندما يكتب في «الحياة»، ووجدت نفسي في عشاء الى جانب الأخ بكر بن لادن، وهو الوجه الحقيقي لأسرة بن لادن الكريمة، وصديق عزيز كأخيه الراحل سالم بن لادن."

"I argued that Democrats should not abandon their long-standing commitment to democracy and human rights..." Come on Marc. When did the Democrats express this "long-standing commitment to democracy and human rights"? When did the Democrats push for democracy and human rights in the Middle East, for example? The answer: never.

Two maids (separately) "fell" from the balconies of the home where they work in Lebanon: one is from Bangladesh and the other from Ethiopia. The police report said that the first simply "slipped". (thanks Wassim)

Tickling the neck. Al-Arabiyya TV (the TV of King Fahd's brother-in-law) today referred to the brawl and fist-fight at the Iraqi puppet parliament as "intense debate." Don't be surprised. They refer to the weekly public beheadings in Saudi Arabia as "tickling of the neck".

"IT IS tempting to be jaunty about piracy. So what if a few Robin Hoods in skiffs nick the odd tanker off the Horn of Africa? Often enough, the owners pay ransom and nobody gets hurt. Everyone needs a living in these hard times. And if the worst comes to the worst, gunboats can always be dispatched to clean the problem up, just as the British and Americans did off north Africa’s Barbary coast at the turn of the 19th century."

"Asked whether the war criminals should be allowed to contest the elections, Shaher said it is an 'internal matter' of Bangladesh. “It is not our concern whatever party comes to power in Bangladesh. Arab countries will closely work together whatever party comes to power," Shaher Mohammad said." (thanks Tanweer)

These are Arab rulers. Bush dancing with Sheikh Mo's family members. (thanks Fadi)

Bush Doctrine Update: "As Mr. Sneid began reading, witnesses said, Sadrists and other opponents of the agreement continued to trade shouts with lawmakers who supported it. Then, Ahmed Masu’udi, a Sadrist lawmaker, approached the dais. Mr. Masu’udi said later in an interview that he was simply trying to reach Mr. Mashhadani to persuade him to stop the reading; several other witnesses said Mr. Masu’udi tried to attack Mr. Sneid. The security guards rushed toward Mr. Masu’udi, who said that they grabbed him and struggled to push him away. At that point, witnesses said, the hall was filled with shouting, lawmakers rushed toward the front and the session ended in chaos."

"Israeli security forces on Wednesday tore down a tent in which an Occupied Jerusalem Palestinian family had been living since being evicted from their nearby house earlier this month. The tent housed Fawzia al-Kurd and her ailing husband since their November 9 expulsion from their home of 52 years that had become a symbol of Palestinian resistance against the pressure of Jewish settlers seeking to gain more land in Arab East Jerusalem." As Mahmud Darwish had said:
"All that you have done
to our people is
registered in notebooks."

My sources explain to me why James Zogby is defending the fanatic Zionists of the new administration. Apparently, he wants to be an ambassador in an Arab country.

"Egyptian police announced Wedneday they had arrested more than 550 teenagers suspected of sexually harassing girls outside schools in several Cairo districts in a single day. The culprits were awaiting interrogation and trial Thursday." They were promised amnesty and blenders if they vote for Jamal Mubarak.

The feminism of George and Laura Bush: "Five years after his last visit, our correspondent finds the Taliban back in charge of their spiritual home – and girls attacked with acid simply for attending school." (thanks Zaki)

You have to see how excited the mouthpiece of Prince Khalid bin Sultan was when the UK foreign minister visited its offices in Beirut. The minister said that the visit is to support "freedom of the press." He said that he will next visit the dungeons of Prince Nayif in Riyadh to support freedom of worship.

"Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mairead Maguire says the United Nations should suspend or revoke Israel's membership." (thanks Marcy)

I have a deal to offer to the Zionists: you may steal the claim to Hummus provided you return Palestine to its owners.

"The ministry has okayed negotiations and sales between Israeli dealers and several Arab states including Iraq, Libya and Yemen, say the sources." (thanks Electronic Ali)

I apologize to Lebanon because Iraq beat it to this honor: "Iraq is perceived as being the world's third most corrupt country, with only failed state Somalia and Myanmar's military junta below it, according to the Transparency International index." (thanks Olivia)

"A group of Jewish settlers have graffitied messages insulting the prophet Mohammed on a mosque in the West Bank."

"He said that so far, in the eyes of the world, the pirates had been misunderstood. “We don’t consider ourselves sea bandits,” he said. “We consider sea bandits those who illegally fish in our seas and dump waste in our seas and carry weapons in our seas. We are simply patrolling our seas. Think of us like a coast guard.”" (thanks Selina)

Zeee Plane. Zeeee Plane. Apparently, the plane of the Lebanese Air Force is bothering residents of Beirut as it is being flown daily over the city in preparation for the Air Show on Lebanon's so-called Independence Day. The last time this plane was used when it bombed Palestinian refugee camps back in May 1973.

Norman Finkelstein sent me this (I cite with his permission): "In the link for the Riad Malki item, one reads at the bottom:
In addition, this year's conference featured a very special event: the announcement of the first annual Washington Institute Book Prize. This lucrative prize is awarded by an independent jury to recognize three outstanding books that advance America's understanding of Middle Eastern politics and U.S. politics. There's an amusing story here. The three-person jury was starred by Bernard Lewis. The book given the Silver Prize was Ginor and Remez, FOXBATS OVER DIMONA. Their book is an out-and-out hoax. Should you want to look at my documentation, I can forward it."

Lebanon may be closer to peace than ever. The Hariri family just opened the King Fahd Garden in Tripoli.

From the demonstration against Peres at Oxford University yesterday (thanks to one of the demonstrators).

Political Economy of the US permanent occupation treaty by comrade Fawwaz

Yesterday, outside the State Department, Walid Jumblat thanked the Bush administration for "stopping the Israeli aggression" on Lebanon. I kid you not.

An Ethiopian maid in Lebanon tried to kill herself but consuming poison. She is being hospitalized.

The coverage of the pirates is typically sensational and one-sided in the US. You wonder: is it better to be suspected (as an Arab) of piracy or of terrorism? Piracy is not terrorism of course, and Johnny Depp--I thought--made piracy cool. But AlJazeera Arabic, for example, had a report yesterday about the background of the pirates: it spoke about the plight of destitute fishermen who were made unemployed by large fishing ships and corporations. That is missing from US news coverage.

You can look for this in vein in English language publication. I tried to find one English reference but I did not: a UAW newspaper (Al-Imarat Al-Yawm) was ordered to close down for 20 days because it offended the...horses of the brother of the head of state.

A Lebanese Marxist theater director awaiting the fall of capitalism.

Memoirs of Revolutionary Days. I received today the memoirs of Fathi Al-Biss (thanks Rami for sending it and for Leila for transporting it). Could not put it down. It is a story of a Palestinian refugee (born in 1951) who came to Lebanon in the late 1960s to study at my high school (International College) and later at AUB on a scholarship from a quaker foundation. He is nine years older than me but he was a famous name in studnet activism at the time I was a young student at IC. I remmber his name from the reportage of the Arab nationalist/leftist newspaper, Al-Muharrir which was the Akhbar of its time. He led the strikes and demonstrations at AUB in the pre-war period (and in the during-the-war) period. He was in the Fath movement. It brought many student days memories for me: of the time when this great guy in Fath wanted to recruit me when I was in high school: he was one of the non-showy types (unusual for Fath) and was decent and low-key guy (some of you know him and he is still a dear friend). He succeeded in recruting students at many schools: he was effective in non flashy ways (also unusual among Fath types). He got quickly mad at me when he discovered that I really detested Fath leadership and that I fiercely opposed Fath's ideology--or whatever you want to call it. He became very unnice to me when I would run into hin in those days (although he now denies it). Fathi tells a very interesting story and you re-live those days: with their hope and their frustrations and defeat. The book was banned in Jordan although the author was extremely careful in not offending the Jordanian regime. But what do you say about a regime that does not tolerate "extending one's tongue"--literally, that is the language of the law in question--against the rulers. I wonder whether it was about the story of when the mukhabarat guy `Abdul-Karim Al-Kabariti (later a prime minister of Jordan) was kidnapped from AUB in the early seventies (the Jordanian government suspeted Fath but the PFLP was behind it). A friend that I later knew was tortured by the Lebanese police to obtain information about Kabariti. The title of the book is Inthiyal Adh-Dhakirah: Inthiyal is an old word and I don't know why he used it. It has the meaning in old classical Arabic of digging out sands in the bottom of the well. So he wanted to say digging out the memory. The story of the period has to be told, and I often think about writing my own memoirs but I don't feel that my story has been completed, or that my tale is close to being told. I shall wait. The other day, my uncle (in his seventies) called me from Paris where he lives in retirement. He was active in the Movement of Arab Nationalists and was a close of comrade of Nayif Hawatimah. Wadi` Haddad, George Habash, and Hawatimah used to fight it out in my grandfather's house in Tyre (I had written about him before). He used to write for Al-Hurriyyah magazine in the 1960s when it was the mouthpiece of the Movement of Arab Nationalists. He was a close friend of Ghassan Kanafani, and was influenced by his stories. I urged him to write his memoirs, and he said that he thought about it. I told him that it may be hard for somebody of his personality: modest and very low key. He said that he would think about it. I asked him to write a chapter, and I would get it published. He said that he would write it but only for my own eyes and would not want it to be published. He told me how he first rebelled: against the family itself (the AbuKhalil feudal family). He got so influenced by leftist writings that he felt that his revolution should be first directed against his own family: he packed and left the home and went to Jordan (where he joined Haddad and Habash and then went to Cairo to study in College during the Nasser days). Fath Al-Biss tells an amazing story: in that Lebanon has changed. There were people who fought for Palestine from different Lebanese sects: this was before the rise of the wawa culture and the era of Arab rulers' dancing for Bush. This was prior to the Sunni-Shi`ite war. My friend `Issa recently told me during a visit to the US that he believes that the Iranian Revolution really changed it all for those of us in the secular left, and he is right. I will be writing soon in Arabic about the underlying causes of the decline of the Arab left. He tells the story of the AUB student, Toni An-Nims who heroically died fighting the Lebanese fascist parties near Sannin. And then things changed, and the guru of the Fath's Left, Munir Shafiq, himself became an Islamist. The sad part is the ending: you feel there is a shift from activism to business. He tells us about his business deals (book publishing and pharmacy) as if we give a hoot about that. But it is an interesting story nevertheless and the author succeeds in making you live those times. I don't want to say more lest I get too emotional.

PS And he tells the story of a cruel American principal at our school, the International College. I still remember his name: Mr. Sullivan. He was blatantly abusive and treated the natives like they were slaves. I detested that man at the age of 10, and he represented to an earlier leftist the epitome of American imperialism. He also was an art teacher, and we did not see the fruits of his art work (although he once later took me aside and gave me good tips about how to draw the human head). Once, I was singing a song by Wadi` As-Safi in art class. I still remember the song:
لارميلك حالي من العالي وقلك هديني
For me, it was a hilarious song. Wadi` As-Safi was singing to the beloved: I shall throw myself at you from atop, and tell you to catch me. The image of As-Safi` throwing himself into the arms of the beloved was--and will always be--very hilarious. So he was pissed that I was singing in art class. He gave me a disciplinary report and I could not understand the offense. I still don't. In later years, I would take my revenge at him. When we no more had to take art classes, I would to his art class when they were asked to go outside to sketch nature, and I would sketch all their notebooks. And as soon as they returned to class, he would tell them: that was AbuKhalil, go back again.

My article in Al-Akhbar: "Crawlnig, Crawling...toward New York: On Tolerance and beheadings"

Peres at Oxford (thanks Reem)

"Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni announced Wednesday that Israel has made a final decision to boycott the United Nations "Durban II" conference on human rights this spring, fearing it would be used once again as a forum for anti-Israeli sentiment." Why would anybody invite racists to attend a conference on racism to begin with.

.

"But the inescapable fact is that the Arabs of Palestine never got the state the UN promised them, and those in the West Bank and (until recently) Gaza have spent the past 40 years under Israeli military occupation, with no citizenship rights at all. That, the authors imply, is another story, separate from the one that interests them: the internal quality of Israeli democracy and the rights of Israel’s own Arabs. In logic, maybe. But in the eyes of the Palestinians, and others, it is hardly surprising, after all the stateless decades, that the two stories have merged."

"Noting that Saudis play chess without the bishop or the queen—for which they substitute an elephant and a vizier—he comments wryly: “No Christians or women were going to be checkmating any king in Abdel Aziz’s Saudi Arabia.”"

"As Mr Ottaway records, the prince became virtually part of the administration, able to enter the White House unannounced and enjoying the rare privilege of a State Department security detail."

"One of the draws for the Bedouins is that the Sharm al-Sheikh tourist industry churns out rubbish all year round. "

A Bangladeshi domestic servant in Beirut set herself on fire and died.

"From the outset of their detainment, Bulgarian officials did not portray the nurses' arrest as a human rights violation, even as scores of Western medical professionals presented evidence that the Libyan hospital system was to blame. Instead, Bulgarian officials treated the nurses as citizens who had committed a crime abroad and should be extradited, and tried domestically."